Since plans emerged for the Selmun Palace to be placed on the market, spokesperson for planning Marthese Portelli has sounded the alarm over whether the process will be transparent, whether a fair value will be given and whether Malta’s heritage will be respected.
Portelli’s comments were made in an opinion piece she penned, in which a number of questions were posed in relation to the news that the government is making plans to sell off the Selmun Palace as well as the Selmun Hotel.
Plans for the hotel to be sold have been in the pipeline since 2009, under the Lawrence Gonzi PN administration. She began her piece by reviewing land sold off by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s successive governments, such as the American University of Malta in Zonqor and Dock 1, Cospicua, the part privatisation of Gozo General Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital, Australia Hall, Cafe Premier and the former Institute of Tourism Studies site which is set to be developed by db Group.
“All these have one thing in common – the giving away of public land and public property for peanuts to a few blue-eyed guys. Mr Prime Minister, public land and public property is not yours. It is ‘Taghna Lkoll’. You were simply given a mandate to administer it in the best interest of the people of Malta and Gozo.”
She referred to a Parliamentary Question in which the plans for sale were made known. Portelli questioned whether this is how the government goes about protecting Malta’s heritage, stressing that the palace in question is scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument. She urged government to reconsider the decision and in the event that it will be up for sale, what process will be used, will it outline how the palace may be developed and whether any conditions will be attached with it. She questioned which minister would be responsible, which entity will be handling the call for expression and also asked what time frame the government is looking at?
Selmun Palace, also known as Selmun Tower, is a villa on the Selmun Peninsula. It was built in the 18th century. The palace was located on the grounds of a hotel until it closed in 2011.
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